C4C today sent a new communication to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The C4C letter was sent on behalf of our members and non-member stakeholders to share “serious concerns with substantive and procedural aspects” of the Licensing Europe process.

We highlighted the EU’s continued reliance on licensing as a one-size-fits all solution for what is actually a far more complicated copyright landscape in Europe. The letter points to a lack of participation by some stakeholders, and it details how some participants who did attend recent stakeholder dialogue meetings were sidelined, unable to “discuss the merits of alternatives to licensing or even to question whether some of the subject matter under discussion is subject to copyright at all.”

To remedy what has so far been a “one-sided debate,” the letter recommends Licensing Europe organizers take steps to enable “a fully open and transparent dialogue that allows all relevant stakeholders to participate in a meaningful way.” We hope they will listen.